France's coronavirus death toll rises by 369 to 22,614

A municipal police officer wearing protective face mask stands guard at Forville market, as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cannes, France, April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

PARIS (Reuters) - The death toll in France from the coronavirus has risen by 369 to stand at 22,614, the health ministry said on Saturday, as the government scrutinises data to see how it might ease a lockdown in place since mid-March.

The ministry said 124 patients were admitted to intensive care units over the last 24 hours although the daily death toll from COVID-19 has fallen steadily over the past two weeks.

President Emmanuel Macron is aiming to ease some lockdown measures on May 11 with schools reopening first, although the government has yet to finalise how it might work in practice.

France has also offered retailers some relief by saying it wants them to reopen when the lockdown is due to end on May 11, although some curbs could remain in certain areas to delay a new wave of the coronavirus.

Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jean-Stephane Brosse; Editing by David Clarke